HAWTHORN could seek further clarification from the League after Lance Franklin's appeal of a two-match suspension was dismissed on Thursday night.

The AFL appeals board ended the 22-year-old's hopes of playing against Essendon on Saturday after the club's argument - based on several "errors of law" - failed to convince the three-man panel.

Franklin and his defence team gathered in a room outside the AFL tribunal for more than half-an-hour before the Coleman Medallist emerged.

"I'm really disappointed. I was disappointed Tuesday night and nothing's really changed," Franklin said.

Hawthorn general manager of football operations Mark Evans appeared shortly after and added that the club had put up a pretty good fight but still had its issues with the ruling.

"We got across a lot of points," Evans said. "Most of them were errors in law.

"The point for me still remains that I'm not sure [whether] this law is in the spirit of the game.

"We look forward to lobbying the AFL to what we can do to get that reversed to a more reasonable decision.

"At this stage, we're happy with what occurred tonight and will go home and sleep on it."

Following a hearing that lasted two hours and 20 minutes, the appeals board deliberated for just five minutes before confirming Franklin's penalty would stand.

The Hawk was initially charged by the match review panel for engaging in rough conduct against Richmond's Ben Cousins last weekend and offered a one-match ban with an early plea.

Hawthorn opted to take Franklin's charge to the tribunal on Tuesday night, risking a two-week ban.

Player advocate David Denton spent the first 90 minutes of Thursday night's hearing attempting to prove to the appeals board that Franklin, while charged with rough conduct, had been incorrectly found guilty of the now-famous 'deeming provision'.

Denton suggested Franklin's case was subject to a "new rule" and that his player had not been charged under the law that was amended following Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell's successful appeal early this year.

However, the appeals board agreed with AFL legal counsel Jeff Gleeson that the amendment - relating to a player making contact with an opponent's head or neck - was encompassed under the rough conduct charge.

The remainder of the hearing largely centred on Hawthorn's argument that "no tribunal acting reasonably could have reached this verdict on the evidence before it".

But despite the Hawks revisiting much of their case from Tuesday night, they again came up short.

In closing, appeals board chairman Peter O'Callaghan said he and his fellow members were in support of Tuesday night's tribunal jury which comprised "three distinguished and experienced members".

He had also highlighted that the case was not a re-hearing and that the appeals board did not have the jurisdiction to overrule Tuesday night's findings.

Franklin's suspension comes as a big blow for his club, with the winner of the clash between the Hawks and the Bombers set to earn a place in next week's finals.

However, if Hawthorn does beat Essendon to progress, it will launch its September campaign without Franklin anyway.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.